Beers Of London Series
34. Beavertown -  America Fuck Yeah 7.3%

I'm a massive fan of Beavertown brewery and their beers. Their Imperial Smog was one of the first beers I reviewed in this series and Black Betty, the black IPA, is one of my favourite beers of the last twelve months. I also managed to taste the dregs of their Blood Orange IPA at the recent Londons Brewing event which was also amazing so there's no pressure on them here. Okay, maybe a little.
The ingredients list for this beer is pretty classic for this style, but with plenty to keep it interesting. There's pumpkin of course, however that pumpkin has been slow roasted in maple syrup for a few hours before being added to the boil. On the spice front there's nutmeg, clove, cardamon, cinnamon and ginger, with the hop support coming from Magnum and Saaz. This is seasonal beer due to its main ingredient, and I also notice that it's named has been toned down on the website to just 'Spiced Pumpkin' which should help sales. Time to open that bottle.
It pours a beautiful glowing russet colour with a delicious off-white head, but it's the spicy ginger and nutmeg that gets shoved right up your nose in the aroma, rattling your olfactory organs, that immediately grabs your attention. It oozes and slithers over the tongue, pulling and prickly leaving a trail of piquancy in its wake. All the spices feature heavily as you might expect, however in contrast to some of the US versions of this style I've had I'm actually able to taste the pumpkin and maple syrup sugary sweetness as an underlying trend, like a flowing river on which everything else, malt, hops and spice is carried. The finish is full of syrupy warmth and bitter sapidity combining beautifully into one long-lasting dryness.
I have to confess that this isn't my favourite style, however as I can taste all the distinct components, particularly and especially the pumpkin, I rather enjoyed this. I'm afraid however that this isn't a beer that you can go out and grab right now, unless you're lucky enough to find one forgotten on a shelf somewhere. This beer was brewed in October 2012, and has matured rather nicely, but the next batch probably won't be available until sometime after October 2013. Make a note in your diary.